Application Error since installing Bitdefender

Dontaskmewhy121

Hi, I have today installed Bitdefender Total Security on my Windows 11 machine, whichb is completely up to date and was running fine before I installed the software.

Since the software has been installed I'm getting this error message and I can't seem to work out why. I know that it's connected to Armoury Crate, which i use as I have ROG hardware, but I can't resolve the issue as the software it asks me to install is already installed.

Any assistance anyone could provide would be really helpful!

Alexandru_BD

Hello @Dontaskmewhy121,

That particular error likely means that the application can’t find or load the .NET 6 desktop runtime, even if it is in fact installed. Since everything was working just fine before, I assume Bitdefender may be blocking processes related to Armoury Crate (AacAmbientLighting.exe is part of ASUS’s Aura/Armoury Crate service as far as I know) so that it can no longer see the .NET runtime properly.

As a test, briefly disable Bitdefender’s real-time scanning and Advanced Threat Defense module and see if the error goes away. If so, you’ll want to create an exception for “AacAmbientLighting.exe” (or the entire Armoury Crate folder) within Bitdefender. Here's how to do this:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/2393/

If the antivirus is indeed the culprit here, adding an exception should normally resolve the error. If it doesn't, then I think we can at least look elsewhere, knowing that this is not the root cause.

Let me know how it goes.

Dontaskmewhy121

Thank you for taking the time to write this response, I tried what the article suggested, but still getting that message popping up. Not really sure what else to try as Bitdefender is the only change that I've made to my system recently and I've never seen this message before this.

Alexandru_BD

I think there are a few more things worth trying, but first make sure Windows 11 is fully up to date.
Look at the Application and System logs around the time you see the error pop up. If Bitdefender is blocking something, you might see entries referencing 'AacAmbientLighting.exe' or 'blocked access.'
Maybe also try to repair/reset the .NET desktop runtime installation. In apps & features, find the .NET 6.0 desktop runtime, choose 'modify,' and then select 'repair' if available.
There's also the option to reinstall and download the latest Armoury Crate installer from ASUS’s website.
Re-installing using the latest installer should pull down any required .NET dependencies, and this often refreshes registry entries, if they’ve been corrupted or blocked.

Furthermore, if nothing here helps, you can circle back to Bitdefender and temporarily disable its security modules, to identify which one is causing this behavior. If all modules are disabled and the error persists, then chances are the antivirus is not really the culprit.. Full steps to disable protection are available at this link:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/28557/

Dontaskmewhy121

Firstly, thank you for taking the time to post such useful and informative responses. I appreciate it.

I somehow landed on a Windows 10 troubleshooting page regarding installing and uninstalling programmes, downloaded the troubleshooter, wasn't sure it would work as I'm on Windows 11, but work it did and I found two versions of NET desktop runtime installed on my machine x64 and x86. I unintalled both of them and uninstalled Armoury Crate again, switched Bitdefender back on and restarted the machine.

When the machine rebooted, I then reinstalled Armoury Crate and this time there was no mention of NET Desktop runtime, it didn't ask me to install it, despite the system insisting that I needed it a few moments earlier, it all installed without incident and I rebooted again, since then the message has gone away seemingly as randomly as it first appeared. I have saved your responses, if it comes back again I will try them, but for now it seems to be working again…

Alexandru_BD

Hi,

Thanks for getting back and you are most welcome, no worries. I'm glad to hear you were able to resolve this somehow. Yes, you can bookmark the thread and come back to it later on, if the issue resurfaces, although let's hope it won't. 🙂

You have a good day.